ELEC4445 Entrepreneurial Engineering
Introduction ''Entrepreneur: derived from the French words entre (between) and prendre (take) – is, in its most general sense, a person who creates or starts a new project, opportunity, or venture.'' ELEC4445 offers students an insight into the world of business and entrepreneurs. It attempts to equip students with the basic knowledge and terminology to seize opportunities that will present themselves over the course of an engineers career. The course is taught through a series of lectures and guest lectures all of which are entertaining and extremely informative. 2009 Guest Lectures *The Silanna Pty Ltd / François Ladouceur **Extremely interesting hearing about aspects concerning a well-funded extremely high-tech start-up from the perspective of a founder *Summertime winebar / S. Scheeler *Better Place – Guy Pross **Another interesting recount about a well-funded start-up from the perspective of a start-up employee. A great deal of insight into how employees can have the start-ups vision instilled into them. *IP: A primer for the entrepreneur / P. Lightbody *Protecting your IP: a CTO perspective – J. Katsifolis *Start-up life / Nick Cuevas *Venture Capital / Tristen Langley *9Legal aspects of entrepreneurship / Rob McInnes *Art in Intellectual Property / Dominik Mersch *Scouting startups / S. Duvall The Entrepreneurial Revolution Creative destruction Creative destruction is the colourful expression introduced by the economist Joseph Schumpeter to describe his view of the process of industrial transformation that accompanies radical innovation. In Schumpeter's vision of capitalism, innovative entry by entrepreneurs was the force that sustained long-term economic growth, even as it destroyed the value of established companies that enjoyed some degree of monopoly power. The Entrepreneurial Process Definition Entrepreneurship is the practice of starting new organisations,particularly new businesses It results in: *The creation, enhancement, realisation and renewal of value. It is based on: *The creation and/or recognition of opportunities followed by the will and initiative to seize those opportunities. It requires: *A willingness to take personal and financial risks. Elements of a Venture #Opportunity: The Entrepreneurial processes is opportunity driven. Opportunities are more likely to be available in markets which are imperfect, that is, there is change and discontinuity. Market demand, market structure and size are helpful indicators to determine the level of opportunity available. #Team: Without a solid team and strong leader the new venture is almost certain to fail. Leaders should build entrepreneurial culture, direct the venture and exhibit resilience in times of distress. “In the world today, there is plenty of technology, plenty of entrepreneurs, plenty of money, plenty of venture capital.What's in short supply is great teams.Your biggest challenge will be building a great team.” – George Doriot #Resources: Resources are an element to be controlled and are not a driver of the process. Four basic types of resources Financial, Assets, People and Business Plan. Opportunities Recognizing and Screening Entrepreneur and the Internet Venture team and Resource Requirements Obtaining Venture and Growth Capital Financial Math Business Plan Entrepreneurial finance The Deal: valuation, structure and negotiation Rapid Growth and Troubled Times The Destination